Court documents tell chilling tale of Florida murder

By Wesley Sykeswsykes@s-t.com

Tuesday

Jul 11, 2017 at 9:33 PMJul 11, 2017 at 10:56 PM

Desiree Jean Tedder, the Dartmouth woman accused of murder in Florida, repeatedly struck Drulmauert Mims in the face with a crowbar while he slept, then stabbed him with a kitchen knife and used a pillow to suffocate him, according to a witness who was interviewed by Pensacola police.

Sleeping next to Mims in the Florida home of Tedder's grandmother on March 30, was Lizmary Rodriguez, who recounted the story to police, saying she awoke to see Tedder attacking Mims.

Those chilling details and more are found in an affidavit released Tuesday by Florida State Attorney Bill Eddins' office as part of Tedder's pending extradition to Florida.

Tedder, 23, who was arrested June 28 at her mother's Dartmouth home, is currently being held at the Bristol County House of Correction in Dartmouth. She is charged with second-degree murder. Christopher Abreu, a Bristol County prosecutor, said the charge against Tedder will "possibly and probably" be upgraded to first-degree murder.

Meanwhile, the sworn affidavit released Tuesday sheds light on the brutal murder of Mims, who multiple witnesses — including Rodriguez — said died at the hands of Tedder.

Despite the vicious crowbar attack, Mims was not yet dead and Rodriguez told police that Tedder then took a kitchen knife and stabbed him, according to the document. He was still alive, she said, but seemed to be "choking on his own blood."

Tedder then grabbed a pillow and put it over Mims' face, muffling his final gasps, Rodriguez told authorities.

READ THE FLORIDA ATTORNEY'S AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF DESIREE TEDDER'S EXTRADITION.

According to the sworn statement, Rodriguez, also 23, told Officer Christopher Grantham of the Pensacola Police Department that following Mims' death, Tedder went outside her grandmother's 12 Sullivan Road residence and returned with a trash can. Tedder then rolled Mims' body in a carpet or tarp, laid the trash can onto the floor, and pushed his body into the can, before rolling it outside and covering it with trash to conceal the body, Rodriguez said.

Tedder used household cleaning items to remove blood stains from bed sheets, walls and clothing, and Rodriguez told authorities that Tedder cut a hole in the mattress to remove the blood stain. She then put the crowbar, knife and pillow in a black plastic bag but Rodriguez said she wasn't sure if Tedder left the bag in her grandmother's attic or burned it.

Rodriguez told police that several days later, Tedder buried the trash can 6 feet below ground in her grandmother's backyard. Mims body remained there for nearly three months, until it was discovered June 28, police said.

Rodriguez also told police that Tedder killed Mims, a drug dealer who was known to sell marijuana, ecstasy and Xanax, because she was tired of not having any money and she wanted his cash and drugs.

One week later, on April 7, Tedder went to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford to be treated for a gunshot wound that she said she had suffered in Florida four days prior. Authorities found 6.9 ounces of marijuana, 25 ecstasy pills and eight Xanax pills inside her backpack and police cited her for misdemeanors.

Court documents state that, previous to that, on March 29 a number of text messages were exchanged between Tedder and Mims, mostly discussing drugs, money, sex and what time Mims would be arriving at Tedder's grandmother's home in Florida. At 10:34 p.m. Mims texted Tedder, "Outside now girl". That was the last text message from Mims to Tedder.

At 7:54 a.m. on March 30 Tedder texted a man, identified as a New Bedford resident. He did not respond until April 5 at 7:34 p.m., when, according to court documents, he warned her against incriminating herself.

Authorities were subsequently able to contact him and on June 27, Officer Grantham and the Assistant State Attorney James Parker met with the man at St. Luke's Hospital. According to court documents, the man said Rodriguez told him she witnessed Tedder kill Mims. The documents state that he told Grantham that Rodriguez was forced by Tedder to help her move Mims and if she didn't then Tedder would kill her, too. Later that same day, Rodriguez was interviewed at a New Bedford police station where she said Tedder killed Mims and forced her to help dispose of his body.

A day later, on June 28, Tedder was taken in for questioning, court documents show. Grantham asked if Tedder killed Mims out of self-defense and she replied no.

In Pensacola, on June 28, the body of Mims was located in the backyard of Tedder's grandmother's house at the location described by Rodriguez, according to court documents.

On July 5, Tedder was held without bail in New Bedford District Court with officials taking steps to return her to Florida. Judge James J. McGovern said he wanted more documentation from Florida to show why Tedder was the lead suspect in the investigation. The court documents from the extradition packet have been forwarded to Florida Governor Rick Scott's office for processing.

Follow Wesley Sykes on Twitter @WesleySykes_SCT.

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